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Kiwi director, Taika Waititi has released the first image from his heartwarming comedy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople today. The image shows the film’s leads, city kid Ricky (Julian Dennison) and a rugged Hec (Sam Neill) head to head in the wild New Zealand...

One Thousand Ropes commenced principal photography in Wellington on November 9, 2015. One Thousand Ropes is the new film from internationally acclaimed writer and director Tusi Tamasese (The Orator). A powerful character drama, One Thousand Ropes is an...

This is an exciting year for New Zealand film at the prestigious Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (TGHFF). The acclaimed film A Flickering Truth will screen at this year’s festival – the first New Zealand film to be shown in the main selection of the...

Human Traces has begun its second block of principal photography this week on the wild and remote Catlins coast on the southeastern South Island. A psychological thriller told from three perspectives, Human Traces is the debut feature from writer...

Twice as many applications were received for the October 2015 Fresh Short Funding round compared with the May submission period. Seven Fresh 10 and three Fresh 30 films have been offered funding.  An eleventh film has been offered $20,000. A...

New Zealand producer, Carthew Neal, will premiere two films at next year’s Sundance Film Festival. Tickled directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve will screen in the World Documentary section of the festival. Announced last week...

Two New Zealand films have been included in the programme of the 2016 Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale). Lee Tamahori’s Mahana will have its world premiere at the festival, screening out of competition, and Tammy Davis’s...

A film co-production agreement between New Zealand and Israel was signed at the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) in Wellington earlier this week by New Zealand’s Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon. Maggie Barry and Israeli Ambassador, H...

A modern reimagining of the kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie is set to begin filming across New Zealand with Matt Murphy, son of the original film’s director, Geoff Murphy, announced as the reboot’s director.    As a fifteen-year-old,...

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) and China Film Co-Production Corporation (CFCC) are delighted to announce the joint approval of 3D animated family film, Beast of Burden as the first official feature film co-production between the two countries. A...

Kiwi audiences will get their first look at the hotly anticipated documentary Tickled with the release of the films official trailer. Tickled - NZ Trailer Probing into the bizarre world of Competitive Endurance Tickling, Tickled follows...

The next generation of “Blondini Gang” have been announced. Dean O’Gorman (The Hobbit, The Almighty Johnsons) James Rolleston (Boy, The Dark Horse) and Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues, Tomorrow when the War Began) will star in Pork Pie...

Taika Waititi’s adventure comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople has broken New Zealand box office records by opening with largest opening weekend ever for a New Zealand film with a box office take of$1,300,000 NZD. “We’ve beat Boy’s opening...

Ten New Zealand films are being screened at a biennial showcase of New Zealand cinema in China that should reach a theatrical audience of over 10,000 people in 42 screenings across three major cities. The ten films, six features and four short films,...

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Leanne Saunders as Head of Production and Development. Leanne replaces Lisa Chatfield who recently left the NZFC for a role at Pukeko Pictures. Leanne has over 15 years’...

The New Zealand Film Festival was launched in Shanghai on Thursday 21 April. Jointly hosted by the New Zealand Consulate General and the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, the festival opened with a screening of  Roger Donaldson'...

Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople continues to break box office records, taking the number two slot in the list of highest grossing local films at the New Zealand box office.  At the close of business on Wednesday 27 April, ...

25 April will screen in competition at the highly regarded Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. It will join eight other films in the competition line-up, only one of which is also a documentary. Directed by Leanne Pooley and produced...

NZIFF continue to appoint prominent NZ filmmakers to select the latest and best in NZ short films with Lee Tamahori confirmed as Guest Selector for the 2016 New Zealand’s Best competition. Five to six selected New Zealand shorts will premiere in...

An acclaimed documentary about the design and construction of a unique cultural building for the Tūhoe iwi will be be screened in Venice this month at the beginning of the city’s famous Architecture Biennale.   Ever the Land tells...

Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople has cemented its place in the record books overtaking the 2010 Kiwi classic Boy (which Waititi also directed) to become the largest grossing local film at the New Zealand Box office. Already...

The Directors & Editors Guild of New Zealand (DEGNZ) is delighted to announce its year-long Women Filmmaker Incubator with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC). The Incubator, launching in the second half of 2016, will...

Six short films have been selected by Lee Tamahori (Mahana, Once Were Warriors) as finalists for the New Zealand International Film Festival’s annual New Zealand’s Best Short Film Competition. The New Zealand’s Best finalists will compete for a total of...

NZIFF is thrilled to present the World Premiere of Alison Maclean’s hotly anticipated adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s debut novel The Rehearsal. The film stars James Rolleston in the role of Stanley, a naive newcomer drawn to the city by his passion to...

The theatrical trailer of The Rehearsal, Alison Maclean’s vibrant screen adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s debut novel has been released online. The Rehearsal Trailer The Rehearsal will have its world premiere at the Civic Theatre on 23...

Former Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast has been appointed chair of the New Zealand Film Commission, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has announced. “Mayor of the capital from 2001-2010 and now chair of both the Environmental...

Filmmakers Adam Luxton and Summer Agnew worked across oceans and time zones to complete their second collaboration, On an Unknown Beach, for this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF). The film documents a scientist, a musician and...

Transmission Films is proud to launch the official Chasing Great film trailer. The trailer is available now here. This emotive and explosive trailer gives New Zealanders their very first look into this highly anticipated film. Chasing Great takes...

The Directors & Editors Guild of New Zealand (DEGNZ) is delighted to announce the ten emerging women directors who will participate in its inaugural Women Filmmakers Incubator. They are: Catherine Bisley Nathalie Boltt Abigail Greenwood Kirsty...

On your marks, get set, GO!  PORK PIE announces cinema release date. STUDIOCANAL and FOUR KNIGHTS FILM are all geared up to distribute their modern reimagining of the kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie to New Zealand Cinemas nationwide. PORK PIE will...

The Hollywood premiere of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon on 8 August has provided another spectacular opportunity to showcase New Zealand as the ultimate film destination. The reimagining of the Disney classic was filmed entirely in New Zealand, with...

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the Gaylene Preston Directors’ Award. Armagan Ballantyne, Alyx Duncan and Gillian Ashurst will each receive $25,000 to further their commitment to feature filmmaking....

Movie reaches $1 million at NZ Box Office.  Soundtrack reaches No 4 on Music Charts The film about the origins of the song now referred to as New Zealand’s unofficial National Anthem, Poi E: The Story of Our Song, crossed the $1 million mark in...

Chasing Great has soared to the top of the New Zealand box office overnight, opening at number one spot ahead of Bad Moms. The opening day figure was $89,186 off 97 screens, a record breaking opening day for a NZ documentary. The cumulative gross box...

New Zealand box office figures show New Zealanders are going to local films in record numbers. In the last 12 months, New Zealand films have boosted the box office at local cinemas, breaking records and reaching larger numbers of people in more cinema...

New Zealand Film Commission staff are saddened by news of Brent Chambers’ death from a heart attack over the weekend. Brent was the founder and creative director of Flux Animation, one of the major animation and production companies in...